Breakfast pizza with spinach, smoked salmon, eggs and foolproof Hollandaise sauce (gluten-free, kosher)

Pizza for breakfast? Pizza brunch? Hell yes! This breakfast pizza with spinach, cold smoked salmon, eggs and fool-proof Hollandaise is perfect for lazy weekend mornings!

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In my blog post about foodie traveller's Gothenburg I probably should have also included Brewers Beer Bar, another Tredje Långgatan gem which is pretty much as close to heaven as it gets for those (oh, so individual) lumberjack shirt-wearing, bushy beard-sporting hipsters.

It's not just their selection of craft beers (anybody else getting soooooo tired of that word?) that keeps the hipsters flocking here, it's also their sourdough pizzas. Let's all take a moment to let that really sink in. 

Sourdough. 

Pizza. 

Mmmmm..... (anybody else salivating like a senile rottweiler right about now?)

During weekends they serve a brunch, which consists of exactly one dish: that sourdough pizza. As a breakfast version. Yes. Pizza. For breakfast. I'm going to start growing my beard right now. 

There are two choices. Either English Breakfast (yes, with all those accoutrements guaranteed to repair any damage you might have done to yourself the night before) and Florentine; pizza with spinach, ricotta, artichoke and stuff - all topped off with a dollop of Hollandaise. 

Pizza brunch! Genius!

Sure, I've had pizza for breakfast several times in my life. And sure, mostly on Sunday mornings and those endless days following New Year and First of May celebrations. 

But there's something about crawling to the door to receive the delivery guy with the make-up from night before running down your cheeks that somehow makes the whole operation decidedly less... glamorous.

But enough of that visual!

I can't think of a better way to kick off a lazy weekend day than this. Have frinds over, put on some music, pour everybody a round of Mimosas and whack these babies onto the table. Oh, yes. I can tell you as soon as I put a photo of this on my Instagram, next Sunday was booked in seconds. 

They are so rich that 2 pizzas easily feed up to 8 people. Another great thing? You'll make the pizza dough in just minutes the night before. More great things? That Hollandaise really is fool-proof and is ready in matter of minutes. But, in case you don't have an immersion blender and one of those accompanying tall beakers, cheat away and use a ready-made one. 

Oh, and if you prefer it that way, you can add the cold smoked salmon slices into the pizza after it comes out of the oven, too.  

You'll find my trusty pizza dough recipe on the blog over here.

2 pizzas (serves 4-8 people)

Breakfast pizza Florentine with spinach, smoked salmon and eggs:

1 portion of pizza dough (mine's over here)

toppings:

200 g spinach

1 tbsp crème fraîche/ sour cream/ cream cheese/ Turkish yogurt

1 tsp finely grated lemon zest

pinch of salt

pinch of black pepper

a little bit of butter / oil for frying

100 g cold smoked salmon

4 eggs

Pre-heat oven to 275°. In case you own a pizza stone, put it in the oven now. If you don't, use a tray. Or a cast iron pan. Once the oven has reached the temperature, leave the pizza stone/ equivalent in the oven for another 45 minutes. 

Heat a little butter or oil in a pan and wilt the spinach. Add lemon zest, crème fraîche and season. Go easy on the salt, as salmon has quite a bit of it. Stir well.

Roll the risen pizza dough into 2 similar-sized bases and tansfer them onto the pizza stones. Spoon the spinach mixture on the pizza base, top with slivers of cold smoked salmon and break 2 eggs on top of each pizza.

Bake for 6-10 minutes (depending on the oven) until the eggs have set and the crust has a bit of colour on them. 

In the meanwhile prepare the Hollandaise.

Fool-proof lemony Hollandaise:

2 egg yolks

1 tbsp cold water

1 tbsp lemon juice

(3/4 tsp finely grated lemon zest) 

pinch of salt

pinch of white pepper

pinch of cayenne pepper

110 g butter, melted

(1/2 tbsp finely chopped chives)

Measure the ingredients (apart fro butter and chives) into the blender's beaker. Melt the butter in a small pan. Blizz the yolks with rest of the ingredients and then, with the blender continuously running, add the hot butter in a thin stream. Voilà - you've got yourself a billowy Hollandaise! In no time!

Fold in chives (if using), check the taste and season as needed. 

Drizzle on top of the pizzas and serve.

Pizza for breakfast - yay or nay? What would be your favourite toppings - smoked salmon, spinach and eggs or something else entirely?

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ANYONE FOR SECONDS?

        

SHARING IS CARING!

The second best salmon soup in the archipelago

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Archipelago salmon soup is wonderfully rich and full of flavours of summer. And orange.

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We're not completely frivolous in our tiaras, The Cat Blogger and I. We're quite capable of carryng on conversations that are very deep and meaningful. During our latest trip to Aland we took on the wellbeing of the entire planet (that UN really aren't doing their bit, are they?) and got thinking about the Fatal Flaws In The World.

And let's face it, there's no imminent shortage of those. There's abject poverty, famine and wars. There are human rights violations, insufferable inequality and men wo never call you back. 

With me the most the biggest mistake in God's plan is the fact I wasn't born in the archipelago. I, along with my nautica sripes would feel so at home there, glowing in tan courtesy of perpetual sun and sailing, pickling herring and serving heaving plates of shrimps to the dinner guests gathered on the deck of our boat.

In Aland I blended in that stripy crowd so well my companion occasionally struggled to spot where this Waldo is. 

In archipelago my dietary awaeness also invariably experiences an natural, albeit temporary, wake-up call. As I'm feasting on all those shrimps, fish soups, gubbröra and Toast Skagens I find myself declaring rather convincingly how I could live on this alone. Until the companion (once again) reminds me of the existence of things like bacon. And Iberico ham. And that oxtail ragú of mine. 

Luckily there are ways to hold on to the archipelago-dweller within even back home by serving oneself a generous portion of this archipelago inspired fish soup. Just close your eyes and visualize yourself sitting on the pier, carelessly swinging your legs over the glimmering sea as the evening sun kisses your freckles. In the ghetto conditions of mainland the last two can coneveniently be substituted with a bucket of ice cold water and a bright light lamp.

I've humbly named the soup The second best salmon soup in the archipelago. The first prize still goes to the one at Fyren in Nauvo and quite justifiably so. Helt suveränt!

I used the salmon stock I made myself (the recipe for which you'll find here) but feel free to use a good store bought variety. 

Serves 4-6

Archipelago salmon soup:

1,5 l good fish stock

the juice of 2,5 oranges (2,5 dl)

1 large onion

8 potatos (total weight 750 g)

4 carrots ( total weight 250 g)

12 allspice peppercorns

600 g salmon (or other fish) 

2,5 dl heavy cream

25 g butter

for serving: bunch of dill

Bring the stock to boil. Add allspice, sliced onion and chopped up veggies. Continue cooking until the veggies are just about done. Then add fish in similar sized cubes and continue cooking for another 5 minutes.

Add cream and bring to boil. Stir in butter and dill. Serve. With toasted archipelago bread croutons. 

Oh, my recipe for archipelago bread? Right over here!

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ANYONE FOR  SECONDS?



      

SHARING IS CARING!

Getting freekeh about spring

Food, too, can be the source of much, much anxiety. When you're trying to be one of those people making the world a better and fairer place through being a conscious consumer, anyway.

Take this innocent-looking salad, for one.

Initially I meant to use quinoa. You know, that super food bursting with fiber and minerals that the healthy eating-enthusiasts use to improve their diets which, in Western countries, are far too often based on empty calories of white flour. But what has happened since the rest of the world discovered this golden grain, initially a staple in South America? The demand has gone through the roof and the production can barely keep up with it and so the locals no longer can afford it and have moved on to what they can afford: Cheap, empty calories of white flour. Instead of freekeh you could use bulghur, couscous or cooked and rinsed pearl barley, too.

Then there's edamame; soy beans. Soy was once upon a time also hailed as a super food but has since become rather notorious. The high degree of processing the product results in less nutrients, there are potential hormonal impacts to consider which, according to some theories also increase the risk of cancer, the ecological issues associated with the crop and the questionable growth of GMO. And then there's the carbon foot print thing. I like their texture and taste though, so that's what I used. Organic, though. But they can be substituted with peas, too - especially fresh peas in the summer would be perfect.

I also wanted some salmon in the salad. Which opened another can of worms. Wild? Farmed? Which certificate to trust? Imported? Domestic? Cheaper? More expensive? If you're a vegetarian, use steamed carrot cubes.

The choice of cucumber also set my heart racing. Domestic one, grown in a greenhouse? Spanish one, flown here? Green house effect? Carbon foot print? How is one to choose?

Uhh uhh. But especially when carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders, you need energy. So, when the hunger inevitably does get the best of you, do whip up a batch of this salad. Not only is it wonderfully summery, it's also good. And good for you.

Serves 4, as a part of a buffet or a picnic table 6-8

Summery freekeh and salmon salad:

350 g skinless, boneless salmon fillet 

the juice of 1 lime

the juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 cm piece of ginger, minced

3 dl freekeh

1/2 large cucumber
300 g edamame (soy) beans
3 spring onions
150 g green grapes
1 bunch of dill

Dressing:

1/2 dl oil
the juice of 1 lime
1/2 tbsp dried mint
salt, pepper

Cut salmon into 1 cm cubes. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top of it and toss in ginger. Pour over the juice of lemon and lime, cover and chill. Turn every now and then to makes sre all the fish is coated.

In the meanwhile cook freekeh according to the instructions on the package. Drain and cool.

Split the cucumber, scoop out the seeds and cut into cubes. Cut the grapes in 4. Finely chop dill and the spring onions. 

Combine the ingredients for the dressing.

Add the veggies into the freekeh, pour over the dressing and finally fold in drained salmon. Serve.

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Hot smoked salmon sausages

Now, I loooove me some sausages. My dream kitchen is still work in progress, but I have reached a point where I have a food processor. And a meat mill. And one of those smokers too. Though that one key instrument in making your own sausages: that nozzle-like pipe attachment that is needed for pumping the mixture into the casings. So, no home-made bangers for me just yet. Though I'd probably also benefit from psyche that won't make me at least try making everything from scratch...?

These fishy sausages you can make without the nozzle and casings, and similar ones have been made on the blog before. This time I made the sausages from salmon, which got its gentle smokiness from hot smoked salmon (and not that Abu Sweden's concoction decorated with royal warranty we got on a trip to Nauvo), but hey, it's totally ok to use all regular salmon, too. And maybe add a drop of liquid smoke aroma into the mix...?

Depending on the size this makes 8-10 sausages

generous 200 g salmon
generous 200 g hot smoked salmon

zest of one lemon

1/4 - 1/2 chilli (depending on your palate and the fieriness of your chillis)

1 generous tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped (or 1/2 tbsp dried variety)

the green part of a spring onion

1 egg white

1,5 dl double cream

salt, pepper

Grate the lemon zest finely and chop chilli, spring onion and dill finely. Mince the regiular salmon in a machine, add egg white and the  cream in a thin stream until you're left with a  smooth paste. Then add roughly chopped hot smoked salmon (if using) and blizz quickly. Little lumps won't hurt! Finally fold in lemon zest, dill, chilli and spring onion.

Cut the cling film to sheets of about 20 cm long. Spread the mass in an oblong shape in the middle of the sheet and roll tightly. First make one small one to test if the seasoning is right and add more if needed. Then twist the ends and tie into a knot so you have a tightly sealed package. Bring water to boil in a big pot and cook the parcels in simmering water for about 5 minutes. Lift out of the water, let cool until you can remove the cling film and then fry them in butter in a pan to get a nice brown colour.

Serve. Like that, with mash, tzatziki or polenta fries. Or, as we did: in hot dog buns. With strawberry and dill ketchup (!) The lowdown of our hot dog fiesta tomorrow on the blog!

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Smoked fish and crayfish

We got talking the other day about all the meals we've had during our short stint together. "Well, I'm not really too keen on them salads", admitted The Boy Next Door, "like that minty pea risotto". Yeah, that's how well he knows his stuff (for the record: I love that risotto). 

But I suppose it does say something about how often salads make an appearance at our kitchen table. I mean, I've got nothing against them per se, but just think about all those salad buffets. Tasteless iceberg lettuce, a couple of watery cucumber slices and tinned corn - that does not a happy diner maketh. And that's exactly what food is supposed to do. 

So, when we do have salads, they tend to be a lot more robust. Either pasta-based (like this perennial favourite: St.Tropez chicken salad) or with potatos (just check this smoked trout salad out! Or this Spanish seafood salad! Or this summery potato salad with marinated octopus!) And lets face it: bacon makes everything better as this German potato salad proves. If we have like a leafy salady salad, then it's got to have at least duck confit(!) in it!

This sturdy salad, perfect for the ongoing crayfish season, was made up of smoked salmon, cucumber, tomato, grilled melon and sweet and spicy cray fish dressing. And coriander, of course - lots of it.

Grilling melon (like any fruit) really emphasizes the natural sweetness of the fruit, accompanied with lovely charred kick. But melons, like any fruit with high water content, tend to go soggy the longer they wait, so only grill the melon if you're going to be serving the salad straight away. 

Serves 3, 4 with even more moderation

Smoked salmon salad:

2-3 heads of gem lettuce
350 g smoked salmon
1/2 cucumber
250 g cherry tomatos
a couple of handfuls or chopped spring onions (the green bits)
1/2 melon (Galia or cantaloupe) 
coriander leaves

Slice the cucumber and halve the cherry tomatos. Cut the melon in half, remove the seeds and cut into 1 cm slices. Grill on a hot grill. Assemble the salad and serve with crayfish dressing.

Sweet chilli crayfish dressing:

2 dl crème fraîche or Greek yogurt
2 dl crayfish tails
1 tsp Srirachaa
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
the juice and finely grated zest of 1/2 lime
1/2-1  tsp sugar
handful of coriander leaves (1 generous tbsp when finely chopped)
salt (carefully), pepper

Combine the ingredients, check taste and adjust with more salt or sugar if needed.

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ANYONE FOR SECONDS?

      

Lemony salmon and fennel pasta

In spite of the garlic, chilli and ginger-laden pre-emptive attacks on the nasty flus that winter (or, this strange excuse of it!) always brings with it, even taco soup and laksa are nnot always to keep those germs at bay. As I was slowly dying of bronchitis a while back I, for the first time maybe ever noticed I didn't even have an appetite. But one has to eat. Sure I could have ordered pizza but you think a food blogger's professional pride lets her resort to that kind of measures? 

Luckily my fridge was (almost) as well stocked as my medicine cabinet and I managed to scrape the ingredients for this pasta whose journey to my plate took less time than the pizza delivery guy's journey to my door.

In normal circumstances I would have probably used cold-smoked salmon which goes so well with fennel  (as fennel soup so gloriously demonstrated). Unfortunately my fridge wasn't that well stocked so I had to make do with regular salmon. Since fennel's own flavour is so subtle (and my palate was off) I also used some fennel seeds. Instead of dill you could also use mint or parsley. White wine could be substituted with lemon juice.

Serves two

2 portions of pasta (linguine, spaghetti, bucatini)

1 large fennel

300 g chunk of salmon

1 dl white wine

generous 1 dl cream (or Turkish yoghurt)

75 g peas

salt, pepper

1 tsp fennel seeds

the grated zest of 1 lemon

handful of chopped spring onions

dill

Cook pasta according to the instructions on the packet and in the meanwhile make the sauce.

Peel fennel's outer skin and remove the hard core. Slice finely and sauté in butter for a few minutes. Then add white wine, continue cooking for a couple of more minutes and pour in cream. Stir and add peas and the salmon, cut into 1/2 cm strips. Continue cooking until salmon is almost done. Crush the fennel seeds and sprinkle into the sauce. Season and fold in drained pasta (reserve some cooking liquid to add into the sauce if needed). Toss in spring onions and dill.

But just looking at that photo makes it painfully clear: in this hemisphere there's no point of even dreaming about fotographing food after 1pm. So, either I'm going to have to limit all cooking to noon or invest in one of those daylight LEDs. Do you guys have any experience of those? Where have you bought yours? Are the significant differences between different brands?


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ANYONE FOR SECONDS?



         

Smoked salmon mousse

A week with one's family can be... somewhat exhausting. But home is a pretty lonely place to return to afterwards. The only thing greeting you is that rubbish you forgot to take out before leaving. Well, that's not entirely true: I was surprised to find that the avocados in my fruit basket (that I'd forgotten there as well) had ripened to perfection while I was away. Surprised is q good word to describe my emotions: I did not even remember buying avocados. And sure enough closer examination revealed they were actually mangoes (I think) whose mummification had rendered them unidentifiable. So much for the noble attempts to waste nothing...

New year is the time for new beginnings. Those are in the cards and I can't wait to be able to share them with you. It is also the time for resolutions (that all too soon turn out to be impossible to keep). Less of this, more of that... Having repeatedly reached for the stars myself, only to fall face down in the pit of failure I'm not going to make any lofty promises of major lifestyle makeovers. But I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try and be a little lighter? Both in my attitude and cooking? Eat more fish and consume less meat? One thing I refuse to let go of though is turning everyday into a celebration!

And with this fishy, fairly light and most importantly, festive treat I ring in my year 2014 in recipes! This smoked salmon mousse/ paté/ spread is quick, easy and elegant and versatile. You can use it to fill a sandwich or serve as canapés; either on a crostini, piece of cucumber or piped into a tiny tart shell (for which you could use the crust from salmon, spinach and egg tart). With a bit more créme fraîche in the mix these would also world for jacket potatos.

Dill could be substituted with finely chopped chives, too. For Asian twist dill could also be substituted with chopped spring onions and coriander leaves and the mousse itself could be spices with ginger paste and a dollop of sweet chilli- sauce.

As a starter this is enough for 6-8 people. 

250 g warm smoked salmon

150 g cold smoked salmon

75-200 g créme fraîche (depending on how firm/ fishy you want it)
zest of 1 lemon

small bunch of  dill, finely chopped
lemon juice
salt, pepper

to serve: lemon wedges

Blizz the salmons and mix in créme fraîche and a dash of lemon juice. Fold in finely grated lemon zest and dill and season. Serve with crostinis or for instance with crisp bread, poppy seed crackers, archipelago bread or toasted flat bread crisps.

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Soup Sunday: salmon soup

Back when The Gentleman used to live in Helsinki we'd often find our Sunday stroll heading for restaurant Helsinge, located in a charming old villa overlooking the river. The restaurant served The Best Salmon Soup Ever. My apologies to my sister whose soup it knocked off the #1 spot. 

The restaurant has since burned to the ground and we only have our memories. Based on those we have both sought to recreate that bowl of creamy goodness and The Gentleman's take is pretty close to perfect. Here is mine. 

Serves 5-6

1,5 tbps butter

1 large onion
7 potatos
1 l fish stock
5 allspice peppers
1 bay leaf
650 g salmon
3 dl cream
salt, white pepper
generous handful of chopped dill

Chop the onions and sauté in butter. Then add the potatos you've peeled and cut into similar sized chunks. Pour in the fish stock, allspice peppers and bay leaf.Cook over moderate heat until the potatos are cooked - depending on the size 20-20 minutes. Then add cream and the salmon. Cook for further 2-3 minutes. Remove the bay leaf, check the taste and season as needed. Before serving add the finely chopped dill.